 | John Brown, and the heroes of Harper's Ferry |  |
3
DEDICATED TO LIDIAN EMERSON
“A light to them who sit in darkness.”
Soul of a world beyond my lays,
I track in vain thy piercing rays;
Too deep for thought, for life a good
In human nature's daily food.
Earnest in all, most quick to feel
That inward sense, whose laws reveal
States that are founded ne'er on chance,
But built of nature's opulence.
Or high or low, or foul or fair,
Where lies this human fate in air,
Thy instincts touch the natural place,
And teach with thy unerring grace.
Years not on you their signets lay;
Still light across youth's feelings play
In loveliest joy, and those clear eyes
Paint violets in their glad surprise.
| John Brown, and the heroes of Harper's Ferry | |